The Duchess Wears Hobbs for School Visit + Your Kate-Related Shopping/Savings Guide

 The Duchess of Cambridge wore styles by Hobbs London for a school visit today. 

She joined a science class at Nower Hill High School that was studying neuroscience and the importance of early childhood development.

More from The Telegraph’s story by Hannah Furness.  

Simon also reported that the lessons the students were studying “…were built on research from Oxford University’s department of psychiatry about the importance of learning how the first five years of children’s lives impact their entire life…”.

Below, a quick video by Ann-Marie Parry of SkyNews showing the Duchess with students. 

The Duchess of Cambridge visiting Nower Hill High School in Harrow today – she took part in a Year 8 science lesson about neuroscience and it’s importance for early childhood development. The pupils were so engaged and totally unphased by their Royal classmate! #royalvisit pic.twitter.com/mzNIvL9BMN

— Ann-Marie Parry (@annmarieparry) November 24, 2021

Today’s school visit is part of the Duchess’s work at the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.  In her Daily Mail story, Rebecca English reports that the Duchess “…said she found the children’s enthusiasm and engagement inspiring. She tried her hand at a worksheet and asked the children whether they found the lesson ‘interesting’ and if they had covered the topic before.” 

More from Simon Perry’s piece; 

Louise Voden, the headteacher of the school, tells PEOPLE she was surprised that Kate actually joined in with the class. “I never thought she would do that!”

She “made them feel at ease” by “reading the children’s body language and knowing who is perhaps a little hesitant and nervous,” Voden tells PEOPLE. “She picked up on the signs with the children, and got down to their level and asked questions in language they can understand. She really engaged with them and asked them great questions.

“She was just extremely down to earth.”

The Duchess also spent time speaking with some of the Oxford University researchers working on the project.  Below you see her with Dr. Elizabeth Rapa, Senior Researcher at University of Oxford (R); Science teacher Mariam Kassir (L); Liza Dimitriadis, Science Curriculum Leader (2nd, L).

Following the school visit, the Duchess attended a reception at Buckingham Palace with executives discussing the results of the Oxford University research.

Another view.

Now for our look at what Kate wore for today’s engagement.

We begin with her coat; a Hobbs London design called the Tilda Wool Coat ($450).  It is a tailored piece in a single-breasted silhouette with notched lapels and besom pockets at the hip. It also has an inside pocket that can hold a phone or other items. The fabric is described as “naturally warm and biodegradable brushed wool fabric that’s kinder on the planet with a recycled polyester lining to help reduce landfill.” 

The coat is available on the Hobbs US site in standard sizes, as well as Petite sizes.  It is also carried at Bloomingdale’s.  Thank you to Bojanana for tipping me to the correct color.  It also comes in an array of other colors, including black, red, camel, fern green,and navy.

Kate’s turtleneck also looks like it is a Hobbs design, the British retailer’s ‘Lara’ Merino Wool Roll Neck Sweater ($120) in the ‘granita pink’ colorway.  Thank you to The Daily Mail’s Caroline Parr for this ID.

The turtleneck/roll neck features goldtone buttons at the cuff in a classic turtleneck design.  It is made of 100% merino wool using wool certified by the Responsible Wool Standard.  The Lara is available on the Hobbs US site and also at Bloomingdale’s.  (Both the coat and turtleneck are 25% off their regular prices as part of a Black Friday promotion Hobbs is doing. There are more details in the shopping portion of the post below.) 

The Lara is also available in a broad range of colors. Some of the colors are $120, others are $110 and a few are $95.  I believe the price points relate to the type of merino wool used; the $95 piece may be past-season as they do not appear to have been made using the Responsible Wool Standard.

The trousers are not yet identified.  UPDATE: It’s possible the Duchess wore an LK Bennett style, the Frieda Cigarette Trouser ($195). 

It looked like the Duchess wore the Gianvito Rossi 85 navy suede heels first noted at the Imperial War Museum visit earlier this month.  

Her earrings appear to be her Daniella Draper Luxury Maxi Cupid Hoop Earrings ($3400). 

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Also, today, with Black Friday a few days away and Cyber Monday not far behind, here are some sales and savings updates. 

• Cornelia James is offering 15% off your purchase with promo code BLACK15.  This includes the Duchess’s Beatrice style, the Imogen gloves, and the Alice style. 
• John Lewis has a number of promotional offers, including 20% off Barbour goods, as well as 25% off Whistles merchandise, 25% off Hobbs designs, and 30% off Ted Baker. 
• LK Bennett is offering 20% off all merchandise with the exception of sale merchandise.  
• Hobbs is taking 25% off everything in its full-price collection.  The British retailer also has a substantial selection of sale merchandise with discounts up to 50% off.   

At Missoma, the offer is 25% off everything. This includes the Duchess’s Zenyu Chandelier Hoops (now $121.50, originally $162) and Rhodocrosite Mini Pyramid Charm Hoops (usually $110, now $82.50).

At Monica Vinader, everything is 25% off; purchases of $250 or more are discounted 30%. This includes Kate’s Siren Green Onyx Earrings, discounted to $131.25 from $175.

Annoushka is taking 20% off its solid gold jewelry collections.  This includes the Pearl Drops (now $380, usually $475) we’ve seen the Duchess wear so frequently (currently $380, usually $475).   

Both the Baroque Pearl Double-Sided Earrings ($129 on sale, usually $184) and the Ruby Drop Earrings ($134, normally $191) are on sale at Soru.  Thank you to Sophie for her tip on this deal!

Neiman Marcus is doing a ‘dollar off’ promotion. If you spend $200, you get $50 off; spend $40o and receive $100 off; spend $1000 and get $250 off your purchase. I mention this because they do carry a number of Kiki McDonough styles worn by the Duchess, including the Citrine Drops ($820, so they would be $720 with the promotion), the Grace White Gold and Topaz Studs ($1190, $940 with the promotional offer); and the Gold/Diamond Hoops with Green Amethyst Drops ($2090 normally, $1690 with $500 off a $2000 spend promotion).  

The promo code for the Neiman Marcus offer is THANKFUL. 

My friend Patricia Watts of A Petite Princess has opened an online shop offering personalized goodies using a terrific font she created based on her grandmother’s cross-stitch pattern.  Pick a friend or relative’s name and personalize an ornament ($9.60) or a mug ($7.75), or anything you like.

Patricia is offering What Kate Wore readers 10% off their purchase through December 1st. Use promo code WKW10 to receive your discount. Here is a closer look at that cute font.

Demellier London is taking 20% off sitewide with promo code BF20. This includes the Nano Montreal bag (about $316 on sale, normally $395) in the ‘smooth toffee leather’ colorway.

Kate’s Cotu Classic sneakers are on sale at Superga, where everything on the site is 30% off.  Usually $65, the style is $45.50 with promo code BF21.   

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, which Kate used for her wedding day look, is taking 30% off everything.  It doesn’t appear any promo code is needed. Below, the Bobbi Brown chart showing what products were used for the wedding.

I will be adding to the list throughout the next several days and will probably compile everything into a separate post if it becomes overly long and tedious to scroll through.  

UPDATE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26: In addition to the deals outlined above, here are some other Black Friday/Cyber Monday offers. 

• Boden has a significant amount of merchandise discounted by 40%.  Additionally, the retailer is taking 10% off full-price items and doing free standard US shipping and returns for orders totaling more than $49.  Thank you to Robyn for the heads-up on this one!
• Reiss is offering 15% off full-price merchandise, no promo code is needed.  This makes Kate’s Larsson blazer $459 instead of $540. 
• Aspinal of London is discounting items up to 50%, including her Midi Mayfair Bag in Deep Shine Lilac ($680, normally $850) and her Deep Shine Black Croc ($680, normally $850).  Thank you also to Robyn for this tip! 

• Catherine Zoraida is offering a mix of merchandise on sale, including Kate’s Fern Hoop Earrings ($174, normally $204), Fern Drop earrings ($202, usually $225), and Mistle Kiss Hoop Earrings ($221, normally $225).   
• Nordstrom is promoting ‘up to 50% off’ on a variety of merchandise, including womenswear and beauty products. 
• Shoe retailer DSW is offering 25% off everything through midnight tonight (Friday) with promo code BFD.  
• Kate Spade is offering up to 50% off everything with promo code BLACKFRIYAY.  
• Needle & Thread is promoting discounts of up to 50%.   
• Really Wild is taking an additional 10% off its archive section with promo code BLACK10. 
• Selfridges is promoting “up to 20% off” with promo code SELFCCE. 
• J. Crew is taking an extra 60% off sale styles and 40% off “almost everything else” with promo code BESTFRIDAY. 

One final note related to the annual WKW wall calendar: we were not able to produce a 2022 calendar. Circumstances conspired to make that something we just couldn’t get accomplished.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to do one in 2023. 

May everyone celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow have a terrific holiday! 

LINKAGE: 

• The Telegraph’s story by Hannah Furness is here; The Daily Mail’s article by Rebecca English is here; a BBC story is here; The Daily Mirror’s piece is here.  
• Simon Perry’s People article is here; a Hello story is here;